Land problems hit National Highway project
Land acquisition problems have slowed down the road widening project.
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2015-12-10 06:59 GMT
Hyderabad: People travelling from Hyderabad to Srisailam and to the Lord Mallikarjuna Swamy temple will have to wait a while longer for a wider road. Though the Hyderabad-Srisailam road has been accorded NH status, land acquisition problems have slowed down the road widening project. Of the 213-km stretch between Hyderabad and Srisailam, 191-km is in Telangana. Though road widening has been completed till 85 km, starting from Hyderabad towards Srisailam in bits and pieces, delay in land acquisition, shifting of statues and forest and wild life clearances have slowed down the project. The NH wing under the Roads and Buildings Department of Telangana has taken up widening of the Hyderabad-Srisailam NH 765 with “two lanes and paved shoulders.”
“The road is being developed in such a way that vehicles can travel at a speed of 80 km an hour,” said an official in the NH wing of R&B department. While officials are confident of land acquisition hurdles being cleared at Kalwarthy junction, and statues being relocated at Kandukur village, it is the clearance from forest and wild life authorities that is likely to take time.
"We want to provide safety measures on the 120-km ghat road, particularly at sharp curves. To improve the sharp curves, we need some land. Widening of the carriageway on the ghat road would be taken up in the next phase. We are awaiting forest department clearances to take up road safety measures on the ghat road," a senior R&B official said, adding that the delay was on the part of the Forest department in giving approvals.
Dr C. Vasantha, superintending engineer of NH wing of R&B department was confident of completing the 85-km to 100-km stretch well before the target of March 2016. Principal chief conservator of forests of Telangana P.K. Sharma, meanwhile, said permissions for either providing safety measures or to widen roads or any other approvals for works on roads passing through a wild sanctuary were given only as per rules and regulations.
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